Moto Z, Moto Z Force launched along with Moto Mods

Lenovo has launched the Moto Z and Moto Z Force smartphones during its keynote address in the Tech World 2016 in San Francisco. As is expected, the two smartphones are not alone – the Moto Mods also follows suit along. JBL, incipio, and other partners also come along.

Moto Z and Moto Z Force come with support for Moto Maker customization.

The first Tango smartphone, Lenovo Phab 2 Pro – developed in collaboration with Google – was also unveiled during the event.

From September, the two smartphones and Moto Mods will be available globally. Moreover, the Moto Mods are designed to work with future generation of Moto Z devices. Both phones – which will go with another name in the US – as Moto Z Droid and Moto Z Force Droid – and will be available in the US from Verizon Wireless. The two phones will run on the latest Android OS, Marshmallow 6.0.1 and will feature a fingerprint scanner on the home button. There will be support for USB Type-C port, without the 3.5mm headphone jack but a 3.5mm adapter.

Pricing information for both phones is not yet available from the company. In the following paragraph, we look at each phone in detail and towards the end of the article, we are going to review the different features in the Moto Mods.

Moto Z

At 5.2mm, the Moto Z is ultra light and is considered the thinnest premium smartphone in the world. With a 5.5-inch HD Super Amoled display, the Moto Z features 4GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of storage space – which is expandable to 2TB with a microSD card – and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC. The processor speed clocks 2.2GHz with screen resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels.

This phone sports a 13MP back camera with optical image stabilization as well as laser autofocus. The selfie unit is 5MP with a wide-angle lens as well as front flash. The Moto Z also comes with waterproof coating and the 2600mAh can deliver up to 30 hours of battery life, according to the company. The phone supports TurboPower charging to give it an extra 8 hours of battery life in just 15 minutes.

The Moto Z Force

The Moto Z Force is a beast of a phone. According to the company, the display will never shatter not will it crack, thanks to the Moto ShatterShield technology. While it is very similar in spec to the Moto Z Force, it comes with 40 hours of battery life with its larger 3500mAh battery. With just 15-minutes of charging, it can provide you with 15 hours of battery life.

When the Moto Z Mods is launched, the complete packaging will include a Power Pack (which will give it additional 22 hours of battery life). In addition, the launch will include the JBL SoundBoost and the Moto Insta-Share Projector (which is expected to provide up to 70-inch Projector experience), Style Shells and finishes like leather, wood, and fabric.

A Closer Look at Motorola’s Moto Mods

The Moto Mods is the first smartphone module from Motorola with modular design. With the announcement of the Moto Mods with the Moto Z series, there are now enough options for you to choose from. With Moto Mods, you have will be able to choose from a battery, a projector, stereo speakers, and possibly a back cover to go with it.

Battery

Among all the Mods, the Incipio offGRID Power Pack is the most inviting. Standard and wireless charging versions – both 79g and 85g respectively, will be made available. Accordingly, the Mod is expected to add 2200mAh battery and 6.2mm thickness to the package. You can use the wireless version with your PMA and Qi pads.

Projector

Weighing 120g and clocking 11mm thickness, the Moto Insta-Projector is a pico-projector that is attached to the Moto Z series. It sports 854 x 480-resolution and is capable of providing 70-inch with 50 lumens of brightness. With the 1100mAh built-in battery, you can go one hour of projecting time and you can charge it over Type-C.

Speakers

The SoundBeat is 13mm thick and weighs in at 145g with 2.27mm speakers at 3W each. Under the hood is a 1000mAh battery, which should serve you some couple of hours if you. The speakers will definitely make the phone thicker and bigger, all for the better experience that this will bring.

Style

The Style Shell are simple covers that allows you to change the look of you r phone and enjoy a new look anytime you want to. It is just like what is obtainable from the 2015 Moto G.

Developer Program

The company is not leaving developers behind. In order to allow other complex modules to be manufactured, the company is planning on launching a developer program that will allow this. If you are a developer, this could be an opportunity for you to exercise your skills and connect with other developers on the platform.

Conclusion

Unlike other modular smartphones, we have been waiting for and expecting for a while, Motorola/Lenovo has finally made it available to us. The competitors could include Google’s Project Ara, which has been in the rumor mills for quite a period of time now.

If you are already prepared to receive the Moto Mods, what other features are you expecting from a smartphone such as this? Has those features been included in this project? And most importantly, do you think it will be available at a price that will make it accessible to most people.